Christmas Is For Sharing
by adamwhatareyouevendoing
Summary: Written for the Rysposito Secret Santa fic exchange prompt: Castle invites the team to dinner on Christmas Eve, and Javier and Kevin finally decide to share their secret. How will everyone react?
1. Chapter 1

**For Detective Writer Cop**

* * *

"You will both come, won't you?" Castle asks excitedly.

Beckett rolls her eyes at his enthusiasm, but cannot deny that a Castle-hosted Christmas truly is a spectacle.

Ryan exchanges a glance with his partner.

"I should be able to make it," he says, looking pointedly at Esposito. "What about you Espo?"

"Yeah probably," Esposito says, trying to play it cool; say it like it's not a big thing.

Of course, to Castle, it isn't a big thing – just friends enjoying dinner and each other's company for the evening – but for Ryan and Esposito, it's a very big thing indeed.

* * *

 _A few days earlier…_

"Soooo, what do you think about inviting Ryan and Espo over for dinner on Christmas Eve?"

Beckett can tell by the tone of Castle's voice that he's angling for something.

She fixes him with her very best stare. "Why?"

"Think about it Beckett!" he enthuses. "Good food, plenty of alcohol, great company… A few subtle hints…" Beckett raises an eyebrow at that – Castle can do subtlety as well as he can disguise his delight at crime scenes. "How can they resist?"

"And by resist, you mean each other?" Beckett concludes for him.

"Exactly!" he says with a wide grin. "It's perfect!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Beckett mutters, low enough for Castle not to hear.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

"I want to tell them Javi."

It takes Esposito a couple of moments to figure out what Ryan might be talking about. "Why?" he asks, when he's pieced it together. "Aren't we fine as we are?"

Ryan looks at Esposito, seemingly at home on his sofa – arm slung around Ryan's shoulders.

"Well yes," he admits. "But where's the harm in sharing our happiness with our friends?"

"When one of those friends is Castle?" Esposito says incredulously. "Are you kidding me? Our happiness will end up in his next book!"

"To be fair Javi, I think he's already half-there with that storyline," Ryan points out.

Esposito scowls; Ryan had naturally read Castle's newest series avidly, and had been under no illusion as to the suggestiveness of the interactions between Raley and Ochoa. Esposito had known something was wrong by the spluttered exclamations of his partner, along with a reddening face.

"Do you think he already suspects?" Ryan asks in a quivering voice.

"Honestly, I don't think he's got a clue," Esposito tells him. "But Kev, you did just say you want him to know, so is there anything wrong if he does?"

Ryan has to concede the point, but refuses to let his boyfriend win the discussion outright. He employs all the charm he can muster, snuggling into Esposito's side with wide eyes turned to him; is triumphant when Esposito tightens his arm around his shoulders.

"Please can we tell them Javi?" he wheedles.

Esposito is quiet for a few moments, then he squeezes Ryan's arm in reassurance.

"Alright Kev, we'll tell them."

* * *

 _Christmas Eve…_

"Why on earth would he insist on black tie?" Esposito huffs, glaring at the offending strip of fabric in the mirror. Ryan pops his head round the bathroom door; cannot help but smile at the adorably annoyed look on his partner's face.

He adopts a more neutral expression before Esposito catches him, and replies, "It's Castle. He wants to put on an event."

"I could still attend an event in jeans and a t-shirt," Esposito grumbles, but there's a lightness in his voice which probably has something to do with the soft way Ryan is looking at him, the soppy git.

"Do you need help with that?" Ryan asks, indicating the tie around Esposito's neck.

He huffs again, but has to admit defeat. "Yes," he pouts, feigning petulance.

For some reason this makes Ryan even happier: he practically bounds over to Esposito's side of the bed. His own tie is perfectly tied.

Esposito opens his mouth to comment, but the words die on his tongue as Ryan guides him round to face him, rather than the mirror. His impossibly blue eyes darken as they meet Esposito's own.

Ryan reaches up to take hold of the fabric of the offending tie, deliberately brushing his fingers against the hollow of Esposito's throat as he seeks out the ends. He feels Esposito swallow against the pad of his thumb at the gesture. Slowly he loops the tie together in deliberate movements, not once taking his eyes off Esposito's.

"There," he murmurs.

Esposito blinks: he hadn't realised the tie had been knotted, and wonders distantly how long he'd just been standing there, transfixed by the flecks of green in Ryan's eyes, the way the lamplight glints off them as though he is glowing from within. _Who's the soppy git now_ , he thinks. "Show off," he remarks.

Ryan's smile lights up his face.

* * *

Ryan pauses before they reach the Castles' front door.

"Are you sure about this Javi?" he asks, feeling suddenly nervous.

Esposito must be able to tell that he's serious, because he doesn't tease him; there's no "You're the one that wanted to do this." Instead he takes Ryan's hand and squeezes it tightly between both of his own. "I'm sure," he says determinedly, but his eyes are soft. "If you're not though, we don't have to –"

"No, I want to," Ryan interrupts. "I just didn't want to force you into it if you really didn't want to."

"Well luckily, I want what you want," Esposito responds. When Ryan doesn't look reassured, he adds: "Kev, I want you – for the long term. They'd find out sooner or later anyway, so lets do it on our own terms…"

Castle's front door opens, and Esposito only just has time to drop Ryan's hand before the man himself sticks his head out into the corridor. "It is you!" he beams. "I thought I heard your voices!" Then he decides to put his plan into action. "You're so in sync, arriving at the same time!" And with that he disappears back into his apartment, leaving them to follow.

Esposito turns to Ryan to finish their conversation. "… But who says we can't have a little fun with it first?"

* * *

 **And return on Christmas Eve for the event itself!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Beckett, Ryan and Espo are here!" Castle calls out happily.

Beckett turns from the kitchen with a wide smile on her face at her husband's excitability. "Hello boys," she greets them.

"Don't they look amazing," Castle prompts.

Beckett manages to refrain from rolling her eyes at Castle's unsubtle nudge. "Irresistible," she replies, watching their reaction carefully. Castle has already turned away, oblivious, busying himself with hanging up their coats, but Beckett sees Esposito give Ryan an assessing once-over and mutter something to his partner under his breath. She even catches the slight shudder of Ryan's body – imperceptible to anyone but a police officer with years of training and experience of watching people for tell-tale signs. Ryan and Esposito are doing a textbook job of giving away those signs.

When Ryan manages to tear his gaze away from his partner, he catches Beckett looking. He quickly gives her a smile and shifts into helpful mode, leaving Esposito's side and asking if there's anything he can help with in the kitchen.

Castle turns round at that, not wanting to waste time to put his plan into action. "No that's alright Ryan," he says, bounding over. "We've got it all under control haven't we Beckett?"

"Well, one of us has," Beckett murmurs, but Castle only smiles, not offended.

"You two sit down," he offers, opening two beers and passing them to Ryan. "Dinner's a little way off yet."

Castle watches, completely unsubtly, as Ryan and Espo settle on the couch. "Look!" he whispers to Beckett.

"I am, for some reason," she remarks. "What am I meant to be seeing?" Of course, she knows exactly what she's seeing, but it's far more enjoyable to watch Castle stumble over it himself.

"Look how close they're sitting," he whispers back excitedly.

"They are partners Castle," Beckett says. "I hardly think they're going to look uncomfortable sat next to other when they spend so much time together."

"It's a sign," is all Castle says in response.

He can barely restrain his squeal of delight when Ryan passes Esposito a beer and their fingers linger a moment too long against the others.

"Showtime," Esposito mutters under his breath.

"Wasn't that part of the show?" Ryan whispers back.

Esposito gives him a cheeky smile in response. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," he grins.

Even though they are looking only at each other, they can feel Castle's eyes on them. Due to the open-plan nature of the apartment, he will undoubtedly hear their conversation, so for now they stick to safe territory.

"What are your plans for tomorrow then? Did you say you were going home?" Ryan asks, acting as though he doesn't already know; that they haven't discussed this at length.

"Mamá is looking forwards to seeing me," Esposito says with a nod. "A big family Christmas as always."

"It's just me this year," Ryan admits, and Esposito tries to pretend that this is news to him; that this situation hasn't already been rectified.

"Why?" he says instead.

"Mam's staying with family in Ireland, but I couldn't afford the time-off," Ryan says. "My sister's here, so I'll probably visit her, but she didn't invite me for dinner." He is silent for a few moments, and Esposito can feel his pain over the estrangement from his sister like a physical presence. He almost breaks their charade to put a reassuring hand on Ryan's knee, remind him that is he is not alone – but luckily Castle interrupts.

"Why don't you go with Espo?" he calls out, not even bothering to disguise the fact that he had been listening in. "You could be his plus one!"

Beckett lightly cuffs him on the arm. "Castle!" she hisses. "You can't just invite people to other people's family Christmases."

Castle looks slightly chastened, but doesn't apologise, only looking at Esposito expectantly.

"You wanna come bro?" he asks Ryan, playing it a lot cooler than he did the first time. The first time had been a 'Big Moment', and he'd stuttered awkwardly through the offer with all the due respect owed to such an important moment in a relationship. Luckily though, Ryan hadn't been any less overcome, and had mumbled his acceptance just as bashfully.

"If it's not too much trouble," he responds this time, voice calm and steady.

"Not at all," Esposito smiles. "Mamá will be glad to see you again."

Castle turns away to carve the meat, seemingly happy by this turn of events. Beckett subtly turns away herself.

Taking the opportunity while they aren't being watched, Esposito presses Ryan's knee with his own. They share a smile.

"How long is this going to go on for?" Ryan asks under his breath.

"I would say until it stops being funny," Esposito responds. "But I don't think there's a chance of that happening any time soon, so… End of the night?"

"Can we keep it up that long?" Ryan murmurs. "That was difficult enough."

"Oh that's the tough bit out of the way," Esposito promises. "Trust me, dinner will be much more fun."

* * *

He isn't wrong; but then again, Ryan had no idea he was going to start playing footsie under the table.

It starts mid-way into the meal; at first just a brief brush across his foot, so quickly he could have ignored it. But then he feels a distinct rubbing against his ankle. He glances up at Esposito; finds him already looking at him. His eyebrow twitches when Ryan meets his eye, a blush rising on his cheeks as Esposito's foot moves further up his leg, clenching his toes against Ryan's calf. The smug smile on his face at Ryan's small choke is completely unfair.

Castle looks up, whatever he was saying trailing off as he notices the way Ryan is steadfastly looking at his plate, and Esposito blatantly staring at him. He exchanges a look with Beckett, as if to say 'see, I knew it'.

He manages to corner Beckett by the sink for a brief moment, under the guise of clearing the plates, whilst Beckett tops up their wine. "See," he whispers to her. "Did you see the way they were acting? Ryan looks like he can't bear to look at Espo he's that in love he thinks is unrequited, and Espo isn't even bothering to hide it."

Beckett opens her mouth to try and discourage him from meddling further, but Castle is already heading back to the table to stir things up.

* * *

"Well, I think it's time we were getting home," Esposito announces, but directed at Ryan in such an intimate way that the penny finally drops.

Castle looks from one to the other, then back again. "What?" he splutters, just managing to avoid choking on his wine. He looks at Beckett, whose expression shows no surprise whatsoever. "You knew?!" he asks incredulously.

She smiles. "Of course I did Castle – and no they haven't already told me," she says quickly before Castle can interrupt. "I figured it out a while back, and tonight only confirmed it."

"But…" Castle manages.

"Castle was under the impression that you two would be perfect for one another, and that you were unrequitedly in love," she explains – even though Ryan and Esposito had figured that much out. "So he thought he could make you realise that tonight… And to be fair, he got the first bit right."

If Castle hears the explanation of his own obliviousness, he is oblivious to it, simply grinning at Ryan and Esposito.

"Well we won't stop you going home in that case," he says, emphasising the word 'home' in something of a question.

"Mine," Ryan confirms. "We've not moved in officially yet, but it's nearer to work and just seems easier."

"But you don't come in together every day," Castle says, and yet again there is a question in his words. Finally he is managing to be subtle, Beckett thinks.

"We didn't want to be too obvious about it," Esposito says; after all, it had been his idea, not Ryan's. To his credit, Ryan had never complained, even though he hadn't seen why they'd had to hide it. Now he deserves everything Esposito can give him. "But from now on we will," he says.

Ryan lets out a small gasp – more of a breath – in surprise and happiness. "Really?" he asks, with a slight quiver in his voice.

"Well why not?" Esposito says cheerily. "Now Castle knows, there's no keeping it a secret anyway."

Although the words are kept intentionally light, Ryan can hear the deeper meaning; hears the unspoken apology.

Castle fetches their coats from the hook by the door. Esposito helps Ryan with his, straightening his collar; Castle swoons.

"Thank you for this evening," Ryan says politely as they get to the door.

Esposito nods in agreement. "And thank you for match-making Castle – I'm sure we'll be very happy together."

* * *

Happy Christmas everyone! Hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
